Victim identified in Briggs Chaney homicide

Second gun-related death in district in four days

Police have released the name of the victim and cause of death in a Dec. 10 homicide in the Briggs Chaney area of Silver Spring.

Christopher Davon White, 22, of the 3400 block of Dodge Park Road in Landover died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to a Montgomery County police press release issued Wednesday. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide, according to the release.

Montgomery County Police spokeswoman Angela Cruz said she did not say how many times White had been shot.

Officers were dispatched at 9:56 p.m. Monday to a possible shooting, but the call quickly led to a homicide investigation when responding officers found White dead on the sidewalk at 13920 Castle Boulevard in Briggs Chaney, according to police.

Detectives are hopeful that the close proximity of the busy Briggs Chaney Shopping Center to the shooting and steady foot traffic in the neighborhood will result in at least several witness accounts. Detectives have obtained basic suspect descriptions already, but until more information is available, police are taking care not to release too much, said Capt. Paul Starks, a county police spokesman.

The Briggs Chaney homicide occurred just days after a homicide in White Oak on Dec. 7 that left another man, 21-year-old Jesse Patrick Campos, dead in his apartment from at least one gunshot wound, Starks said, citing department call records and a report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The call was originally given to officers as a girlfriend who called 911 to report her boyfriend had been shot. Officers did meet with a woman and a second man, a roommate of the victim's, at the scene. Starks was unable to confirm the relationship between the woman and the victim, but so far both the woman and the male roommate have cooperated with police.

As of Tuesday, detectives believed that Campos' death was not a random crime, Starks added.

“We're looking at it more that there was some association or specific motive for him to be a victim,” he said. “... We don't believe this was random.”

According to police accounts, two suspects entered Campos' apartment after accosting his male roommate outside, forcing him to open the door. One of the suspects shot Campos, and both fled. Neither the male roommate nor the woman who was in the apartment were injured, Starks added.

So far, no increase to the department's patrol presence in the busy district is planned, but detectives made steady progress in investigating both homicides as of Tuesday, Starks said. With evidence in Friday's homicide now indicating a more specific motivation for the shooting and early headway in the second death in Briggs Chaney Monday night, Starks was optimistic about the department's chances to close both cases and ensure the public's safety.

“Officers in that district are already very cued in to what's happening in that small area and so is the county; it's not a complete coincidence that our new district station is being constructed at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Route 29,” Starks said. “I believe these are closeable cases.”

While both crimes appear to involve firearms and took place fairly close together in time and proximity, detectives do not believe they are related. Police are hopeful that a pair of $10,000 rewards offered by the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County for information leading to an arrest will prompt additional witnesses to step forward.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Montgomery County police at 240-773-5070. Crime Solvers can be reached at 866-411-8477.